Tuesday, 27 August 2013

I have finally come to the last posting of the tribute trail I left this summer, in the US in memory of my daughter Kiama.
Our 3 week holiday had come to an end. It has done us both a world of good to spend 3 weeks away from home, breaking all our habits and patterns and surround ourselves with new sights and sounds, living a different life for a while. I felt truly energised and inspired. Creating the charms and leaving this tribute trail was not only fun but an important part of my grieving process. It definitely helps, expressing your thought and feelings when you suffer a bereavement and to find ways of creating something positive out of it.
I thank the friend, who, during a lunch just a week before we went holiday, suggested to do a trail - you know who you are!

So on the 3rd of July we spend a couple of hours at Sea-Tac airport (Seattle-Tacoma airport) waiting for our flight back to London. Kiama loved travelling, both on the inside and out in the world. Although she hadn't made any firm plans, she was always talking about travelling after finishing university. So what better place then an airport to symbolise this part of her.

In walking around the airport we came across an exhibition display, near Gate A-1, celebrating the life of Jimi Hendrix. We had no idea that he was originally from Seattle. I don't know if Kiama knew much of the music of Hendrix, but she certainly loved learning to play the guitar.

Another talented artist who died so young and for me another reason to make this the last place for the last of the charms - no.22, symbolising the 22 years of Kiama's life.

The charm was placed on a panel on the back of the wall.

Here is Kiama playing the guitar - the photo was taken almost exactly 2 years ago, 25th of August 2011 in Spain!!! She was visiting one of her Spanish friends during her holiday there.

Dick and Jane are 2 artists who turned their house and garden into a wonderful art site. They used all kinds of materials from bottle tops, scrap metal and wood, nuts and bolts, bicycle parts, paint and lots of reflectors.

I absolutely love this place, the use of all the recycled materials is
so imaginative I couldn't get enough of it - walking around the house,
shooting photo's and peeping through the holes in the fence...

A kind of totem pole creature. The graffiti wall in the background is part of the skatepark next door.

A tree made with bicycle wheels.

Kiama would have loved this place, as it was such a tribute to what we can do with recycling. She created herself some art work out of bicycle parts when she attended university, like this Ram’s Head sculpture, which she sold to The Bicycle Shop Café in Norwich.

If you ever happen to visit this lovely spot in Norwich, you can find the sculpture downstairs in the Handlebar.

So I had to place one of Kiama's Charm's somewhere at Dick & Jane's Spot. I decided to hang no. 20 on the holder of the Guest Book after writing a message in the book in case they (Dick & Jane and their visitors) wonder what this charm is all about...

I know from my friend Mary, that the charm is gone now, but who ever found it didn't make the effort to contact me.

Monday, 12 August 2013

For all of you, who follow my postings on the tribute trail I left in the USA in memory of my daughter Kiama there is a little follow up story on Kiama's Charm - no.18, which was found by 2 girls in the place Odessa in Washington.

Every 2 weeks I skype with my friend in Ellensburg and last week she told me that her brother, who lives in Odessa visited her and spoke about the intrigue of Kiama's Charm. Apparently it became the talk of the town, as the story was placed in the local newspaper, The Odessa Record.

After a night hooking up and parked on the driveway of Mary's sister near Snoqualmie we cleaned the RV and took it back to Cruise America near Seattle. We had a few days left with our friend in Ellensburg.

One of the days there we visited the Clymer Museum & Gallery and got stuck inside for a while because of a freak thunderstorm with a downpour which turned the roads into small rivers.

When the rain eventually stopped we took our sandals off to cross the road for a coffee and watch people wading through the waters. By the time we left the café most of the water in this street was gone.

I placed a charm for Kiama on a bench in North Pearl Street.

One night, after a not very exciting meal out, we passed a sports shop with lots of skateboards in the shop window. I am sure Kiama would have popped in the shop if she would have passed here.

There was a hook underneath the letterbox, perfect for no. 17

The same evening we decided to rent a DVD, so we walked the streets of Ellensburg to look for a Redbox. We came past the abandoned Ellensburg Windmill (originally build as an office for a petrol station).

Across the street was a Redbox on the forecourt of a petrol station.

Like many of us Kiama loved watching films. One of her all time favourites was the feelgood French film Amélie. This film inspired her so much that it found it's way in her approach to life and her love and ambition of making a positive difference in the life of others was reflected in many of her art projects.

I had a mix up with the numbers on the charms in my pocket, so it was no.19 instead of no.18 which came to hang on some kind of electricity transformer next to the Redbox at Circle K on 204, S Main Street.

and this intriguing concrete installation by the architect Brad Cloepfil. It is called 'Maryhill Overlook' and it offers a myriad of interesting views of the Columbia River Gorge.

It was a hot day and there were lots of little lizards about sunbathing on the stone walls.

The museum has an interesting and surprising collection of sculptures and watercolours by Rodin, Native American Art, Royal possessions of Queen Marie (of Romania), a whole gallery with hundreds of chess sets and more.

The Mary and Bruce Stevenson Wing of the museum opened just 2 days after Kiama's death
on the 13th of May 2012

There was also an Education Centre with an exhibition of photographs made by Native American teens, who took part in a residential art development camp. It was accompanied by moving stories of what they learned about themselves and each other during the program.

Kiama would have loved this place - art/education, scenic views and her favourite little animals playing hide and seek in and out the sun.

So Charm no.14 found a place here:

on a little pipe sticking out of the wall, facing the steps to the entrance.

Saturday, 10 August 2013

I am way behind with my postings on Kiama's Charm's. It seems ages ago we where in the States and there are so many other things I want to post about, so I have decided to rush a bit through the rest of the numbers.

We stayed at a Koa site at Klamath Falls in Oregon for the night. I originally read the signs for 'Klamath Falls' on the highway wrong and thought the 'l' was an 'i', making it look like Kiama(th).
The next day we had to go to the postoffice before hitting the road and we parked our RV on Klamath Avenue.....